Yang Yan took a bite of the tomato. When her tongue touched the tomato’s juice, the small bite turned into a big bite. The discomfort in her heart dissipated. She began to eat in earnest.
When Li Junxuan saw this, he cried, “Mom, you’re eating my tomato!”
When Yang Yan heard that, she realized she had already almost eaten half of her son’s tomato. ‘Is my mouth that big?’ In any case, consoling her son was more important. “Okay, Xuan ‘Er, don’t cry. Mommy will buy a few more for you.” Yang Yan coaxed in a gentle voice.
“Really?” Li Junxuan, who still had tears in the corner of his eyes, asked suspiciously.
“Of course!” Yang Yan said, “Auntie, give me five tomatoes!” Yang Yan handed over 10 RMB, and she looked at the other vegetables. They were alluringly fresh. She thought for a while and asked, “Auntie, how much is the eggplant and spinach?”
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, “The eggplant is 2 RMB each, and the spinach is 15 RMB per catty.”
Yang Yan was surprised. “Your vegetables are so expensive!” She was incredulous.
Xiao Lingyu smiled and explained, “They are all naturally grown and well-cared for. They are worth the price. You’ve tasted the tomato, don’t you think it’s worth the asking price?”
Yang Yan thought about it. “Okay, give me two eggplants and half a catty of spinach.”
Xiao Lingyu obliged. Then she tossed in two tomatoes. “Since you’re our first customers, I’ll toss in two free tomatoes. Remember to come again. That’s a total of 21.50 RMB, but I’ll give you a discount and charge you 20 RMB.” They had given Yang Yan three free tomatoes actually, counting the one in the boy’s mouth.
Yang Yan paid and left happily. Mother Xiao held the 20 RMB, and she couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe Xiao Lingyu managed to sell a tomato for 2 RMB each.
“Yu ‘Er, am I dreaming? Did we really sell the vegetables for that price?” Mother Xiao was excited, “This is a real 20 RMB? Back then, when we were farming our own vegetables, we could barely earn 20 RMB in a day after selling all the vegetables!”
Xiao Lingyu smiled. “Mom, this is just the beginning!”
The two continued their journey. They pushed the tricycle up a ramp and then turned right into another road. There were big trees that lined the road. There were many small vendors on both sides. Foot traffic was heavy.
The left side of the road was a school, the right was the residential area, a few meters forward was the market, so there were a lot of pedestrians here.
When Xiao Lingyu and Mother Xiao appeared with the tricycle, many people looked at the vegetables with curiosity.
“They look so fresh!”
“You’re right, and they are of the same high quality.”
“Do you notice that the vegetables are also bigger than the ones sold at the market? See, those tomatoes are as large as a man’s fists. But I heard that some unscrupulous farmers would use ripening and swelling agents to make their fruit ripen earlier and grow larger. The crops are too good-looking and they are of uniform size. That is unnatural, so they must have used those chemicals!” A middle-aged lady claimed. The lady heard from her university son that most vegetables and fruits in the big cities came from greenhouses. They were treated with various chemicals and didn’t taste good. Therefore, she immediately came to that conclusion when she saw the crops on Xiao Lingyu’s tricycle.
Xiao Lingyu did not pay attention to the criticism. She smiled, “Auntie, you’re wrong. I don’t use any of those things. These are natural, organic vegetables and fruits. I don’t use any pesticides. That is most evident from their taste. Auntie, if you don’t believe me, you can have a taste.”
Xiao Lingyu then took a fruit knife to cut the tomato. She cut them into slices and handed one to the middle-aged woman. “Auntie, come and have a taste.” She turned to the others, “You can have a taste too.”
When Xiao Lingyu cut open the tomato, the people were drawn by its fragrance. They crowded around Xiao Lingyu’s tricycle.
When Xiao Lingyu offered a taste test, they didn’t hold back. They reached for the slice and popped it into their mouth. The ten tomato slices disappeared in an instant.
“Wow!”
“Is this really a normal tomato? Or is it a rare delicacy?”